Buddhism was established in Tibet during the 7th century AD. Traditionally it is said that Khri Srong bTsan sGampo (around 617-50), the first emperor of Tibet, brought Buddhism to the country. After successful military campaigns against the Tang ruler of China, he was offered a Chinese princess as part of a marriage alliance. The princess brought an image of the Buddha from China and installed it in the Ramoche temple at Lhasa. Srong bTsan sGampo is also reported to have married a Nepali princess and to have sent learned delegates to India to learn the art of writing and adapt it to Tibetan. This was essential for administration and the translation of Buddhist scriptures.

In the 8th century, Khri Srong lDe bTsan (reigned 742-802) initiated the construction of bSamyas – the most important Buddhist temple in Tibet. It became the centre of an imperial network of temples built to control the country in the name of Buddhism. The temples were granted endowments and the nobility forced to swear allegiance to the Buddhist establishment. Conflicts between Indian and Chinese schools of thought led to the ‘Great Debate’ at bSamyas in the 790s. It was decided that Tibetan Buddhism should follow the Indian school, whose monastic code and philosophical position has dominated Tibetan Buddhism to the present day.